After more than 30 years of service as a municipal court judge, Dean is excited to be back in private practice, focusing on domestic relations, criminal and traffic law.

A lifelong resident of Southeast Ohio, Dean began his legal career with the law firm of Graham & Graham Co., LPA in Zanesville where he practiced in domestic and criminal law and rose to partner.

Perhaps it was during law school when Dean served as a legislative aide in the Ohio Senate that he first caught the public service bug. He would go onto become a solicitor for the Village of Roseville and was eventually elected judge of the Perry County Municipal Court, where he served for 33 years. There he established the Perry County New Direction Drug Court to help defendants struggling with addiction to get back on their feet instead of serving significant jail time.

Both as judge and a bar association leader, Dean has worked to close the access to justice gap and to connect those most in need with lawyers. For his role in establishing the Perry County Free Legal Clinic, the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation awarded him the 2018 Presidential Award for Pro Bono Service. As President of the Ohio State Bar Association, he also chaired the Indigent Defense Task Force, working with diverse stakeholders to develop recommendations for the Ohio General Assembly to ensure sustainable funding and optimal delivery of indigent defense services across the state.

Throughout my career, I have seen how the law can be a powerful tool to help solve real problems for real people, not to mention how much better the outcomes are in any legal matter when a defendant or litigant is supported by the skills of a good attorney. MSH shares this philosophy, and I am grateful that through my work here, I can continue to make a difference.